Furnace arch construction



FURNACE ARCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 27, 1938 I 3 Sheets-Sheet l J? fitzm m, I

IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 3, 1942. s. H. LANYON FURNACE ARCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 27, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A1 flzaigoiz INVEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

3 sheis-sheet 5 S. H. LANYON FURNACE ARCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 2'7, 1958 A TTORNEYS.

Feb. 3, 1942.

Patented Feb. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT @OFFICE FURNACE ARCH CONSTRUCTION Samuel Herbert Lanyon, San Francisco, Calif. Application September 27, 1938, Serial No. 231,995 18 Claims. (01. 110 99) This invention relates to furnaces and more particularly to a suspended arch of new and novel construction and one of the objects is to provide refractory tiles so constructed and supported as to produce an under surface conforming to the contour of the furnace'roof required without producing any thrust against the walls or setting up any thrust from tile to tile other than that necessary .to hold the Joint material in place between them.

A still further object is to provide refractory tiles so designed as .to be weakened along avertical central plane, each tile having supporting means located to hold in place the respective parts of a tile if broken from any cause along its central weakened portion.

load.

A still further object is to so mount the tiles of the nose as to relieve them from the weight of a substantially vertical wall thereabove, the tile being so arranged that the walls can, in that section, constitute a continuation thereof.

Another object is to improve the wall top construction of the furnace permitting greater flexibility of design than heretofore and the use of channels of proper sizes to aflord suitable resistance against inward movement of the column top and to provide beam strength suitable for the load to be carried over the maximum span en: countered. i

A still further object is to eliminate the cracking and breaking of tiles due to uneven expanstructed and so mounted as to permit the installation of an' effective'expansion joint between the refractory side wall and the adjacent tiles of a the arch so that the refractory side wall is free arch. 7

Another object is to so construct and mount the tiles that they will be balanced in all parts of. the sloping portion so that thrust is not only eliminated but it is thus possible to eliminate sharp, exposed corners of the tiles and sharp angles 'inthe heated roof surface which usually cause excessive gas leakage.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in' the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the sion, this elimination being effected by mounting the tiles for independent swinging toward or y from each other when subjected to the eflects' of expansion or contraction.

A further object is to so mount the tiles that any unit thereof can be removed without disturbing the adjacent tiles, this being an important v like when installed directly below the undersurface of the arch.

A still further object is to employ tile so coninvention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings-the preferred forms of the inventionhave been shown.

Insai'd: drawings a Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portion section on line 2-2,

Figure 8 is a section on a reduced-scale through the shelf used at the arch nose said section being on the line 8-8, Figure 3. Y

Figure 9 is a side elevation of one of the one- -piece tiles.

Figure 10 is a transversesection on line Ill-III,

Figure 9. g Figure 11 is a sideelevation of the nose cast- Referring to the figures by characters of reference, I and 2 constitute the main beams suitably connected for supporting a portion of the wall 3 of the outer casing serving as a support for an inverted channel beam! having an outer depending fiange 5 lapping a portionof the wall.

a double tile such ets 9 to the channel member 4.

For the purpose of supporting the wall tiles, members ID are secured at their lower ends to beam 2, as shown at H and at intermediate points to columns 8 as shown at l2. Each of these members has suitably disposed shelves |3 extending therefrom for engaging with certain of the fire bricks forming the wall and at other points the bricks can be tied to the members I as shown at I5. The mounting and construction of the members In and the parts carried thereby constitute no part of the present invention. They are included in the"present case merely for the purpose of showing a new and improved way of connecting the upper ends of the members H] to the top structure. At Hi there is shown a bracket adapted to be secured to the member 1 by one or more bolts l1 and this bracket has a shelf I8 projecting therefrom for engagement with the adjacent bricks while an arm I9 is extended downwardly from the bracket and laps the upper end of the adjacent member ID. It is tied to this member in any suitable manner, as by means of a wire 20. The retainer members I0 and the tying devices or retainer casting l5, together with the shelves l3 and I8 carry the entire load of the lining or wall made up of those fire brick |4 located above the shelves and by providing the bracket IS with the offset depending arm l9, and leaving a space above the upper end of each of the members l0, said members are free to expand without causing distortion. This arrangement also allows for a circulation of air upwardly between the supported fire brick I4 and the casing wall 3, this air escaping outwardly through suitably located openings in the wall 3 one of which has been indicated at 2|.

Secured to the bottom of the beams and 2 are nose castings each of which includes a top or attaching plate 22 bolted or otherwise attached to the beams and a depending web 23 provided with suitably spaced apertures 24 for the reception of the hooked upper ends 25 of hanger rods 26. These hanger rods are adapted to be positioned substantially radially along the sides of the web and, during installation, can be held in position by engaging in recessed ears 21 which extend laterally from the web as shown particularly in Figure 4. The hangers are employed to connect to the casting 23 those tiles constituting the rounded nose portions of the arch and which are adapted to curve downwardly and laterally away from the lower fire bricks 4 heretofore referred to. Each tile used at the nose is made of interfitting sections 28 and 28' the meeting faces of which are formed with projecting lugs 29 adapted to be seated in corresponding recesses 30. The reason for making the tiles at the nose in two interfitting sections instead of in one piece is to bring them within the maximum width allowed under good ceramic practice. The meeting faces are also provided, near their upper ends,

with matching grooves 3| which cooperate to form an opening the upper wall of which is recessed to provide parallel channels 32, 33 and 3,4. The side channels 32 and 33 are located within the respective sections 28 and 28' while the channel 34 is bisected by the meeting faces of the two sections and cooperates with channels 32 and 33 to define depending wedge-shaped portions 34'. It will be noted that the bottom walls of the grooves 3| converge downwardly so that the opening formed by the matchin grooves is thus provided with a V-shaped bottom or recess.

As shown particularly in Figure 4 several tiles can be connected to each hanger rod 26. For example the hanger rod can be formed with a hook 35 extended through a yoke 36 at the center of a longitudinally channelled hanger bar 31. This bar is so proportioned, in the structure illustrated, as to extend through four tiles, two being located at each side of the offset center or yoke 36 so that the four tiles thus will be balanced. Those tiles nearest yoke 36 can be cut away or recessed as at 38 to permit the yoke 36 to extend between them.

When bar 31 is seated within the matching grooves 3| of the sections of the four engaged tiles, the side edges of the bar are seated within the respective recesses or channels 32 and 33 so that the two sections of the tile are thus held together and should one of them break, the other would be properly supported. Consequently the channeled bar forms a tie between the wedging portions 34 engaging the same, thereby resisting separation of the tile whether the tile is made of separate sections as in Figure 7 or is in one piece, as hereinafter explained.

The hanger rods 26 are placed at opposite sides of the web 23 alternately so that the rows of tiles supported by the staggered hangers will likewise be staggered to provide staggered joints between them. This tends to prevent fire clay mortar from falling out of the joints. By referring to Figure 1 it will be noted that the two pairs of sectional tiles 28 and 28' forming the bottom part of the nose portion of the arch are positioned at opposite sides of the center of gravity so that one pair is'balanced against the other. The remaining or inner pair of sectional tiles 28 and 28' extends upwardly from shelf 39 to the lower fire brick l4 positioned below the lower shelf |3 and are out of balance.

The transmission of thrust from the bricks l4 to the lower sectional tiles 28 and 28' can be eliminated by interposing a shelf 39 as shown in Figure 1. This shelf, as illustrated in Figure 3, has a longitudinal slot 40 whereby one end of the shelf can straddle the adjacent portion of the web 23. While in position astride the web, the lower end of the shelf is swung downwardly whereupon the upper or reduced end of the shelf,

which is formed with thickened abutments 4|,

can exert an upward thrust against stop lugs 42 on the web while supporting lugs 43 which depend from the shelf can engage and lap ears 44 extending laterally from the web 23 at its margin. Thus following the application of the shelf to the web, the lower end of the shelf can be subjected to downward thrust from the tiles thereabove so that the parts 43 and 44 will be held in engagement and the upper end of the shelf will be maintained pressed against the stops 42. Thus accidental dislocation of the shelf is prevented. As has already been stated, the shelves |3 carry only the load of the bricks and tile thereabove. Shelf 33,,however, carries the load bisects the opening through the tile.

thereby preventing application of anunbalanced load to the two lower pairs of sectional tiles 20 and 28' which are positioned below shelf 39 and on a vertical plane passing through the approxiwhich forms the ninety degree angle of the radial refractory facing. These lower tile are located on both sides of a vertical line intersecting the center of the central portion of the arch nose.

The inclined portion of the arch is lined with tiles of special design to meet the locations to be occupied by them, and for the purpose of maintaining a balance when in proper position. These tiles of different shapes are shown at 45 and 46 in Figure 1. As they are not located at the nose, it is not necessary to make them of two pieces as are the tiles 28, although they can be made in that way if found more desirable and can be formed with or without lugs v Each of these tiles, ifin one piece, is formed with an opening 41 corresponding in shape with the opening defined by the grooves 3| and as has been described in connection with the tiles 28, it is possibleto use a channelled hanger bar such as shown at 3lwhich is seated in the spaced.

channels at the topof the opening 41 'soas to be seated in the tile at each side of its vertical transverse center. It is preferred to mount two tiles on each end portion of the hanger bar but obviously this number can be reduced or increased according to the conditions present.

The different hanger bars are supported by the hooked lower ends 48 of hanger rods 49 the upper ends of which are hooked over'supporting beams 50 forming a part ofthe framework of the furnace. In every case the center of gravity is located in a line extending from the point of contact of the top of beam 50 with the upper hook on the hanger, downwardly throughthe point of contact between hook and bar 31 and as the tiles are hung from their bars 31 in perfect balance, they will not exert side thrust one against the other when properly located and suspended. Where the tiles are arranged horizontally to form the top of the arch as indicated for example at-l in Figure 1,. they can bemade symmetrical, the openings 52 therein correspond ing in shape tothe openings formed by the matching grooves 3|. It will be noted that the tile 45 are not supported by or held in alinement' by the adjacent tile 28 but hangs in perfect balance from hanger 49. v

A suitable sealing medium such as indicated generally at 53 can be located between the tiles wherever it is desired to make a reasonably gastlght connection.

It will be noted that in every instance where a tile is not made in sections, it is weakened along a vertical plane passing through its apsuch as 29 and, 30.-

mate center of gravity of the tile. This weakening on the above described plane may be further accomplishedbyproviding a vertical groove 55 in the face of either one, or both, sides of the tile to reduce the thickness of the tile and concentrate stresses along said vertical plane. Thus each tile is weakened along a vertical plane passing through its approximate center of gravity. Therefore, should the tile be inadvertently subjected to strains which would break it, it naturally would fracture along the plane of least resistance which would be along said vertical plane.

proximate center of gravity, which plane also This weakening is done by forming the intermediate channel in each tile corresponding with channel 34. One of these .intermediate channels in a onepiece tile has been indicated at 54 in Figure 9. It will also be noted that the top of each tile is shaped to form an angular recess 55 in vertical alignment with the intermediate channel 34 or Y 54, and the lower part of the opening is shaped by converging surfaces forming a V-shaped angle or recess 54 in the lower corner so as to induce cracking, should the tile be overstressed, to occur f It has been In some cases it'may be desirable to make the tile in sections divided along said vertical plane. Consequently the tile after thus being parted would still be heldin place because each of the sections of the broken tile'would be engaged and supported by one side portion of the hanger bar. Instead of providing a single hanger bar for holding four tiles as heretofore explained, each hanger, as *shown in Figure 5, can be formed with a hooked lower end 55 adapted to extend loosely through the upper ends of arcuate arms 51 extending laterally and downwardly from each other and each terminating in a short hanger 'bar '58 proportioned tohold only two tiles. ,By

providing this double hanger arrangement, however, the four tiles can be suspended from one hanger 59 although two hanger bars are used.

Importance isattached to the fact that the present invention includes refractory tiles of special configurations and the particular means employed for supporting them permits the production of an undersurface conforming to the contour of the furnace roof required.- These tiles, while shown and described as assembled in units of four, obviously can be suspended sin ly or in any number to a unit,according to the requirement and while tiles of certain shapes have been illustrated, obviouslythese shapes can be varied. It is merely essential that, wherever possible, the tiles be so suspended as to be balanced so that the side thrust from tile to tile will be avoided. the experience of all users of various'makes-and'styles of flat suspended arches,

' that the majority of the maintenance expense is due' to the fact thatoperating conditions frequently occur which cause'the tile to crack down its centerdirectly below the -supporting means. By providing tiles with the peculiarly shaped openings herein described and with the peculiarly shaped hanger bars seated in the upper portions of the openings at the sides thereof, each tile, if fractured along a plane at the center thereof as stated, thus being divided into two parts, will remain supported because each of the two parts will be engaged and held by the'hanger bar. As has heretofore been stated the tiles, in the present case, are purposely weakened along their vertical center planes, 'both by the central depression in the top of the tile, the central top groove and sharp lower' corner in the opening with the tiles at opposite sides of their centers. This results in wedging of portions of each tile into the hanger bar and a resultant tendency to resist cracking.

A further advantage resulting from the suspension of the tiles so that they are substantially balanced to overcome side thrust, is found in the fact that where a seal or expansion Joint such as 53 is employed, as well as where the cement is provided in the joints between the tiles, a small but continuous pressure between the tiles is produced by locating the top of the hanger rods 49 suspending a row of tile 46 adjacent to a seal 53 slightly nearer the vertical center line of the next row of tile away from seal 53 than the distance between the vertical center lines of these two rows of tile, causing them to be held close together at the joints between these rows at all times. The intensity of this reaction increases as the length of the arch increases due to expansion resulting from temperature rise, but at no time will the tiles hang free with the possibility of adjacent surfaces of the two tiles separating. Because of the maintenance,

of close contact between the titles in the structure herein disclosed, gas-tight joints are produced because the fire clay or other material filling the joints will not fall out of place. Furthermore the tiles, when suspended as described, will return to their original positions when the arch cools, however slight their movement under temperature rises may have been.

By providing-the special assembly for the arch nose, the units can readily be removed and replaced independently, against displacement those tiles between it and the wall. The wall top construction which has been illustrated in Figure 1 allows for considerable flexibility of design and the proper use of steel members because the horizontal channels can be chosen of the proper section to give suitable resistance against inward movement of the column top and the vertical channel can be chosen of the proper size to provide beam strength suitable for the load it is to carry over the maximumspan encountered. The casting or bracket IE will fit any vertical channel used with any combination of horizontal channels and can be mounted with a single bolt. The assembly is quite simple but nevertheless very eiiicient and, as before stated, is advantageous because of the flexibility of design permitted.

What is claimed is:

1. In a furnace construction a one-piece refractory tile having an opening therethrough,

said tile having an angular recess and a channel in opposed portions of the opening and a recess in its top, said angular recess, channel and top recess being positioned along a plane extending through the center of gravity of the tile, and means extending through the opening for supporting the tile, said means and tile having cooperating interfitting portions at opposite sides of said plane for supporting the separate portions of the tile when broken.

2. In a furnace construction a one-piece refractory tile having an opening therethrough, said tile having an angular recess and a channel in opposed portions of the opening and a recess in its top, said angular recess, channel and top recess being positioned in a vertical plane extending through the center of gravity of the tile, and a hanger bar detachably seated in the opening and positioned for supporting the separated the shelf 39 holding ,ter

portions of the tile when broken apart, the wall of said opening having recesses at opposite sides of the vertical plane extending through the cenof gravity or the tile for receiving opposed portions of the hanger bar.

3. In a furnace construction a one-piece rerecess being positioned in a vertical plane extending through the center of gravity of the the, a channeled hanger bar extending through the opening and positioned to constitute the sole means for supporting the separated portions of the tile when broken, said tile having portions positioned to wedge into the bar at opposite sides of the said vertical plane while the tileis suspended by the bar.

4. In a furnace construction a one-piece refractory tile having 'an opening therethrough, said tile having an angular recess and a channel in opposed portions of the opening and a recess in its top, said angular recess, channel and top recess being positioned in a vertical plane extending through the center of gravity of the tile, the wall of the opening in the tiledefining side top channels and wedge-shaped portions depending between the side and inverted central channels, and a channelled hanger bar removably seated in the opening and positioned to constitute the sole means for supporting the respective side portions of the tile, the side portions of said bar being seated in the side channels and said wedge-shaped portions of the tile being wedged within the bar when the tile is supported by the bar.

5. In a furnace construction a one-piece refractory tile having an opening therethrough, said tile having an angular recess and a channel in opposed portions of the opening and a recess in its top, said angular recess, channel and top recess being positioned in a vertical plane extending through the center of gravity of the tile, the wallof the opening in the tile defining side top channels and wedge-shaped portions depending between the side and inverted central channels, and a channelled hanger bar removably seated in the opening and positioned to constitute the sole means for supporting the respective side portions of the tile, the side portions of said bar being seated in the side channels and said wedge-shaped portions of the tile being wedged within the bar when the tile is supported by the bar, the side channels and the wedge shaped portions being located at opposite sides respectively of the said plane.

6. In a furnace construction an arch unit including separate contacting one-piece tiles having alining openings closed at the top and sides and weakening grooves bisecting the openings in the tiles, there being wedging portions in the top portion of the opening in each tile and located at opposite sides of the weakening grooves, said tiles being spaced apart above the openings, a hanger e tending between the spaced portions of the ti es, and a hanger bar carried by the hanger and projecting into the openings, said bar constituting a tie and said projecting portions being wedged within the bar thereby -eooperating witl'r the bar to strengthen the tile against breaking along the weakening grooves and for holding the parts of the tile together in the event of breakage along said grooves.

7. In a furnace construction an arch unit inarated along said line.

-hanger bar and each being and tiles mounted on cluding separate contacting one-piece tiles havclosed at the top and into the openings, said bar constituting a tie, the

upper portions of the walls of the openings defining side and intermediate channels in each tile and spaced depending wedging portions, the

' sides of the bar being seated in the side channels and the wedging portions being seated in the'bar, said bar cooperating with the wedging portions to tie them together and resist separation of the tile along a line intersecting the openingand also to hold together the parts of the tile if sep- 8. In a furnace construction,

of the tiles being spacedv on" said casting against swinging movementin a downward "direction, hanger bars detachably enan inclined arch wall comprising a plurality of units each including a hanger bar, and a set of one-piece tiles symmetrical and unsymmetrical respectively with respect to vertical lines through their centers of gravity, said tiles being, suspended from the substantially balanced, the tiles of each unit being positioned for contact with the corresponding tiles of the next adjoining unit without transmitting thrust thereto and the bottom surfaces of the tiles of all of the units being shaped to define a pre-' determined arch contour other than horizontal or vertical while the units are supported in balanced position. a

9. Ina furnace construction a suspended arch including a nose casting, a beam supporting the same thereunder, a shelf straddling and extending radially from the casting, cooperating means on the casting and shelf for holding said shelf against longitudinal movement and providing a fulcrum for the shelf, cooperating means on the shelf and casting for holding the shelf against downward movement on said fulcrum when subjected to a load at its outer end, a hanger extending from the casting, a hanger bar carried thereby and a tile unit having an opening therethrough in which the hanger bar is seated, said shelf being positioned to extend under the greater portion of the hanger-supported tiles thereabove and receive the unbalanced weight thereofr 10. In a furnace construction a suspended arch including a nose casting, same thereunder, a shelf straddling the casting, cooperating means on the casting and shelf for holding said shelf against longitudinal movement and providing a fulcrum for the the shelf against movement in one direction on a beam supporting the i respective arms and a pair of contacting tiles shelf, cooperating means on the shelf and casting for holding saged by the respective hangers and mounted for partial rotation relative"thereto, wall tiles, tile units supported by the respective hanger bars shapedto define aninclined bottomsurface merging intoa rounded nose, those tile units defining the inclined surface being balanced to eliminate side thrust against each other and against-the tiles of the 'nose, tiles connected to the casting, and interposed between the wall tiles and the saidtiles of they nose, and a shelfposltioned to relieve the said tiles of the nose from thrust by the interposed tiles and the wall tiles thereon.

12. In a furnace construction a nose structure including a top plate, a depending apertured web, tile supporting hangers detachably seated in the web and extending outwardly therefrom at opposite sides respectively means for holding the hangers against downward swinging movement under the weight oi! .the engaged .tiles, and means for limiting the downward swinging movement of said hanger-supported tiles relative to their hangers, said means including a detachable shelf straddlingthe web, means on the web for supporting the shelf against downward swin in movement at its free end, and means on they shelf and cooperating with the web for holding the shelfagainst sliding movement while supported by the web. 1

13. In a furnace construction a suspended refractory arch including a horizontal portion, an inclined portion and a nose portion formed of refractory tile units, the inclined portion com-= prising'symmetricaland asy'mmetricalunits, and means for suspending-the tile units of the horizontal and inclined portions in normally balanced positions to prevent lateral thrust of one unit against another, said units of the inclined portion cooperating to present a smooth inclined lower surface, merging into a rounded lower surface formed by the units of the noseportlon,

14. In a furnace construction an arch unit including a hanger rod, diverging arms pivotally connected thereto, channelled bars carried by the mounted on each bar, thetiles of each pair having spaced portions for the reception of an arm therebetween and said tiles having alining openings in whichthe bar'is seated, one tile of each pair normally contacting with one of the tiles of the other pair.

15. In a furnace construction a one-piece refractory tile having an opening therethrough, the

, wall of the opening defining inverted side and said fulcrum when subjected to a load at its outer end, and a tile unit suspended from the casting and bearing downwardly on the shelf, said unit including a hanger detachablyengaging and extending outwardly from the casting, a channelled hanger bar engaged and supported bythe hanger, I the bar, each tile having an opening extending therethrough provided with side and intermediate channels in the wall of the opening and with wedging portions extending into the hanger bar, each tile being separable along a line bisecting the opening and extending between the wedging means.

11. In a furnace construction a suspended arch including beams, a supporting structure therefor, a nose casting carried by the supporting structure, hangers depending from and'detachably engaging the beams and nose casting respectively, means on the nose casting forholding the hangers intermediate channels and laterally spaced wedge-shaped portions depending between the channels, said tile including means for insuring separation of the tile substantially along a plane intersecting the intermediate channel and extending between the wedge-shaped portions.

16. In a furnace construction a suspended arch including a transverse supporting beam, an apertured nose casting secured to and depending from the beam, separate diverging hangers detachably engaged in the apertured nose casting and extending therebeyond, a hanger bar engaged by one of the diverging hangers, one-piece refractory tfles having bar-receiving openings and mounted on the hanger bar, another hanger bar engaged by another one of the diverging hangers, refractory tiles having bar-receiving openings and mounted on the latter hanger bar,

the tiles on one bar being balanced'against the tiles on the other bar, and means for holding the separate hangers against swinging movement toward each other while supporting the bars and tiles.

17. In a furnace constructionwall brick constituting an upwardly extending wall, tile units positioned to form a suspended refractory arch including a horizontal portion and an inclined portion, the inclined portion of the arch comprising symmetrical and asymmetrical units, and a nose portion, said nose portion comprising lower tile units balanced one against the other and end tile units interposed between the lower balanced tile units and the lower end of the wall, and means for suspending the tile units of the horizontal and inclined portions in normally balanced positions to prevent lateral thrust of one tile unit against another tile unit, said tile units of the inclined portion cooperating to present a smooth inclined lower surface merging into a rounded lower surface formed by the tile units of the nose portion, a nose casting, means detachably connected to the casting for supporting the nose tile units, and a shelf extending between the balanced lower tile units of the nose portion and the said end tile units thereof to relieve said lower balanced tile'units from the weight or the end tile units of the nose portion and the weight of the wall brick bearing thereon.

18. In a furnace construction a refractory tile having an opening therethroughand a recess in its top, said recess having downwardly converging side walls, the bottom of the opening being tapered downwardly and forming an angle, the top of said opening being formed to provide an intermediate channel and side channels, the intermediate channel being closed at the top and in line with said recess and angle, the upper end walls of said side channels constituting support-engaging seats, said intermediate and side channels defining wedge-shaped portions constituting support-engaging means.

SAMUEL HERBERT LANYON. 

